An Angel Comes To Seireitei
by LadyNiniana
Summary: This is just an idea for a story... nothings really concrete and many things are bound to change. More than anything I want to see what kind of a response I get from this "intro"... Ichigo x OC
1. Chapter 1

"Have you seen the new girl?"

"Lyla-chan swears she saw her this morning in the office."

"I've heard she's some sort of genius sent here from one of the poorer provinces to boost our ranking in th…"

Ichigo let out a gruff snort in the general direction of the group that had just passed his seat. Did these people really have so little to do that _one_ new student could create so much commotion and excitement among their ranks? Choosing to ignore the excited whispers behind him, Ichigo leaned his head back into his hands and closed his eyes. He was just beginning to relax when Rukia appeared, leading the rest of their school friends.

"… not that it should make any difference, Kiego," Rukia was saying in an irritated voice.

"I want the chance to speak with her," Ishida interrupted, "her intellect is said to be nothing less than astounding." The rest of the group just ogled at Ishida for a moment before bursting into hysterics. Their reaction brought a light flush to Ishida's cheeks, but he said nothing in return.

"Sure, sure Ishida. Anyway, I haven't seen her yet, but she is said to be more beautiful than, than… ," Kiego sighed and stared off into oblivion.

"Ugh, not you guys, too," Ichigo cracked an eye to glance sideways at his friends before continuing, "That's all I've been hearing about _all_ day!"

At Ichigo's insolent tone, Kiego leapt up into a hero's pose. "I will not stand for this belittling outburst against my beloved. How dare you decry the magnificent…" here Kiego floundered and grinned sheepishly at his friends. Ichigo glared at him but said nothing as the rest once again burst into hysterics, this time because of Kiego.

"Some love," Ishida sniffed, "You don't even know her name." This, of course, started Orihime on a rant concerning all the (not-so-obvious) possibilities for the girl's name. Ichigo sighed and resigned to ignore his friends' irritating chattering for just a little longer. He relaxed, reclining his head once again and letting his eyes slip shut. However, in the middle of Orihime's guessing, a sudden hush fell over the entire room. The sudden silence caused Ichigo to start and he jerked forward in his chair, his eyes snapping open. His immediate reaction was to reach out with a sudden flare of his reiatsu and scan the room for obvious signs of a hollow. He halted, however, once his eyes swept past the doorway.

At the front of the classroom stood a creature more magnificent than any he could have imagined. Her form was slim and lithe; impeccably dressed in tight blue jeans and a silver sweater, she stood before the class, regarding them with a dreamy stare. Most shocking of all was not her slim physique or designer clothes, but her physical features. Her skin was pale, milk-white and absolutely flawless… Ichigo's observations were halted at that moment by the appearance of their teacher. The students immediately began whispering in hushed voices as they scrambled to their seats. The girl handed the teacher a note without a word, or really acknowledging him, and turned to face the class once again. Everything from her actions to her posture emanated a cool confidence. Ichigo noticed that even the teacher seemed to balk at the girl for a moment before recovering his senses and staring down at the note in his trembling hands. "Ahh, yes! We have been expecting you Miss… Miss…" The teacher faltered and looked to the girl uncertainly.

"Niniana. My name is Niniana."

*****

A sudden rush of late-autumn breeze caught her by surprise and she nearly laughed for joy as it seized her hair and whipped it around her face. The breeze latched onto the fibers of her clothes and pulled at them, seemingly begging her to give up control of her limbs and follow in its dance. And so she allowed her body to be pushed forward and back, and to and fro by the wind. Still smiling, Niniana twirled gracefully on the spot, undoing the damage the wind had caused to her appearance. She realized too late that perhaps she had done so a bit _too_ gracefully when she noticed several groups of high school students gaping, open-mouthed, at her from around the parking lot. Ducking her head, Niniana continued towards her destination. This time, she was more careful to contain her delight as she stared in wonder at the bright sky and the light that cast dancing shadows across the ground, illuminating to tiniest, sparkling particles within the pavement. _For having grown up in such splendor, humans really are drab creatures._

The high school's concrete exterior loomed before her as she climbed the steps to the entrance. One last time, she checked herself. _Dressed in the appropriate style… hair and clothing in place… all necessary documentation filed… powers carefully masked…_ Taking one final breath of fresh air, she continued into the building. As she walked down the corridor, all the students cleared a wide path for her, as if on instinct. Niniana ignored their open stares, poorly-concealed gestures, and obvious whispering and sighed inwardly… _Today will be a very long day_. Inside the office, all the windows were open and sunshine poured into the room from outside. _At least some of the humans cannot stand to let go of summer's freedom yet, either_. Niniana smiled to herself. She approached the desk and was immediately halted by a single raised index finger from the secretary.

"Just a moment, if you don't mind" the woman stated gruffly, struggling to collect and sort notes while answering the telephone. Niniana decided she didn't mind at all and chose to take a moment to study the creatures in the room with her. They bustled back and forth hurriedly, not taking any time to acknowledge one another or their surroundings. _Humans really are a strange bunch. They have so little time on this Earth, and yet they squander it in dark rooms, hunched over cramped desks_… So caught in her thoughts was Niniana, that she did not at once realize that the grouchy woman was addressing her.

"Well? Come on dear, I haven't got all da…" She halted, midway through her statement as she glanced up to peer at Niniana over her glasses. Niniana mentally rolled her eyes. She had tried to mask her appearance as thoroughly as she had masked her powers, but she just wasn't meant to look like a human… The woman stared up at her and Niniana could easily read the wonder, envy, and, most of all, absolute terror in her eyes. _So this one is a bit more susceptible than the rest. I'll have to keep my distance from her, if only to prevent her from becoming suspicious_. To avoid further disturbing the woman, Niniana ducked her head and slowly raised her hand to pass over her paperwork. As the woman reached out to take the stack of papers with trembling hands, Niniana made sure to carefully avoid making contact with the woman's skin. Tearing her gaze from Niniana with difficulty, the woman glanced briefly at the paperwork before her. When everything passed her quick inspection, she pressed a pass, a schedule, and a map into Niniana's waiting hands and wordlessly returned to her work. Niniana couldn't help the quiet chuckle that left her lips. _Perhaps this will be a bit more interesting than I had anticipated…_

Out in the hallway, Niniana found herself, once again, among the masses of students. Instead of waiting for the bell to ring, she began in the direction of one of the smaller hallways that branched off of the main one. _Anything to get away from all this attention…_ With her back turned, Niniana did not see the approaching group of students, but she did sense them. It was difficult to explain, no mortal would ever understand this particular ability of hers. Within her mind, she could sense, feel, smell, see, and touch the consciousnesses of everyone around her. She could hear their every thought and feel their every emotion. At times like these, where such a great number of minds were packed into so small of space, Niniana began to feel anxious. It became more difficult for her to filter through all the information at an efficient rate. And the number of thoughts, feelings, and images could easily overwhelm her If she was not careful. So, as the group approached her from behind, Niniana closed her senses, turning the flood of imagery into a trickle of essential information collected from the consciousnesses around her and turned to face them just as they opened their mouths to greet her.

"Hello, my name is Niniana. I'm new to this area and to this school. It is a pleasure to meet you and I hope that we may come to enjoy one another's company." The students merely gaped at her in wonder and said nothing. Confounded, Niniana smiled again and left without another word to carve an open path down the corridor. The students merely stared after her before dispersing and wandering in any random direction, their previous conversations and destinations forgotten.

Niniana walked hurriedly down the hallway. She had seen it in their minds. To them, she may be devastatingly beautiful, but she was also foreign and terrifying. Within their minds, she had felt their shock and awe. The sharp, refined quality of her features and the intense gleam in her eyes left her looking nothing less than feral. She resolved to calm her face and to slow her movements. She resolved to blend into the masses around her… she could do this…

*****

"Niniana. My name is Niniana." Niniana said this slowly and in a clear voice to the students assembled before her. She didn't make eye contact with any of them, but instead chose to stare blankly at a cobweb in the back corner of the classroom. She smiled softly at the wondrous nature of the structure, admiring each fragile strand. _Such frail beauty constructed by one so small… truly, it is a wonder_. How she wished she could fade into the background, like those dusty filaments. She paid no attention to the teacher as he continued to introduce her to the class, but as he spoke Niniana's eyes panned from left to right, sweeping across the students of the class. With a start, Niniana started at the beginning and filed through the room again, this time paying more attention to the reiatsu of each individual. The majority of the students seemed to possess reiatsu of no significance. To her eyes, they appeared to shimmer faintly in their seats. Their pitiful amounts of reiatsu too weak and insubstantial to register something as great as she. They would remain completely unaware of her true nature. But… here and there, a few exceptions were to be found. Scattered about the classroom were a few individuals with a great deal more reiatsu than was normal. A dark-haired boy with a pinched face and glasses in the front row… a tanned giant in the back… a busty red-head sitting alongside a tom-boyish female… a girl with piercing grey eyes and black hair that reached her shoulders… and finally, the one that had caught her eye in the first place… For the others, although above average, were nothing worth her interest. They glowed, illuminated like candles in a darkened room. But this boy, who was all shocking orange hair, angular features, and scowling eyes had a reiatsu that shone like a beacon to her.

The teacher behind her was still blundering on about "welcoming with open arms…" as Niniana started forward in the direction of light, now oblivious to everyone else in the room. She immediately saw that she had caught his eye as well. He was staring openly, wonder evident in his gaze. But Niniana was shocked to see that there was no fear in his eyes. _With a reiatsu like that, he should be able to sense my… otherness… easily! Indeed, his friends are already on the alert_… Niniana chuckled as the dark-haired boy and girl stiffened as she passed their seats. Upon reaching the boy, Niniana stopped in front of him, but said nothing. They continued to look at one another intently, oblivious to the stares of their classmates, but she could see that he was beginning to have some difficulty maintaining her gaze. Within her mind, she could feel the dark-haired girl's anxiety. _Be careful, Ichigo… she might be dangerous. So please don't do anything stupid or…_ The girl didn't have time to finish though, because at that moment, Ichigo decided he had had enough.

"What the hell do you want" he raged suddenly, looking at Niniana as if she might be stupid. Niniana chuckled again. _This IS going to be fun…_

"Hello, _Ichigo_. My name is Niniana. I would like very much to sit next to you…" as Niniana said this, she watched the boy's face curiously, clearly enjoying his reaction. He visibly blanched at the use of his name and could only stare open-mouthed at her as she slid silently and gracefully into the seat next to him. She continued to watch him, a wry smile plastered on her face, her eyes never leaving his face.

*****

Ichigo began to feel the first rumblings of unease well within him. She stared at him openly and unabashedly, a scary intensity gleaming from the depths of her eyes. Finally, he couldn't meet her gaze any longer and had to turn away to face the front of the room. He could feel her eyes blazing holes into the side of his face, and blanched further when he heard her chuckle darkly. For the remainder of the period, Ichigo tried to focus on the teacher's lecture, but he only heard every few words. He was also vaguely aware of the fact that Rukia was attempting to subtly attract his attention, but the majority of his attention was focused on the girl beside him. He had not turned to face her since he had looked away, but he could tell she was still watching him intently. Finally, towards the end of the class, he heard her sigh and it was suddenly as if a great pressure had been lifted from his mind. Without meaning to, he immediately turned in her direction, expecting to meet her gaze once more… But, upon turning, he was met with a flowing curtain of hair. For some unknown reason, his stomach churned with disappointment at this development. _Wait… disappointment?! Why should I be disappointed that that crazy has finally stopped gawking at me like some loony?! I'm not any better than the rest of those infernal, gossiping, nit-wits…_

Ichigo's only consolation, _Not that I need consoling…_ was that, with the girl's back turned, he had the opportunity to study his neighbor in earnest. The first thing he noticed was how startlingly slim she was. Her feet were crossed beneath the desk and her legs, pressed together, seemed to travel for miles before reaching her narrow hips and slim waist. Her thin arms were crossed across the surface of the desk. All her body was unnaturally still, except for the very tips of her fingers, which were dancing along the desk, tracing intricate, invisible designs on its surface. The tapering fingers seemed to move with a mind of their own and this caused Ichigo to glance at the girl's face to see if she was paying any attention to her fingers' activities. But, as soon as he looked to her face, all previous thoughts and intentions were erased from his consciousness. In the glow of the afternoon sun's last rays, her porcelain skin was stained an elaborate combination of yellows, oranges, and reds. Her eyes stared into the distance, seemingly unaffected by the glare of the sun. She began to turn to face him once again, but Ichigo found that he was unable to turn from her. Instead, he found his attention drawn to her hair, whose silken silver strands were flowing over her shoulders with a soft swishing sound. Her eyes were closed as she finally faced him. Her long lashes skimming along her impossibly high cheekbones before she opened her eyes. Ichigo's mouth fell open as he stared into her eyes. She looked to him with a heavy-lidded gaze, her eyes the deepest, darkest, clearest blue he had ever seen. She smiled softly at him, and flashed him a view of her perfectly straight pearly whites. An intense, crackling energy seemed to bubble up from the depths of her eyes and she suddenly seemed so foreign. Here was someone unlike any other Ichigo had ever met. Ichigo found that he could only stare as her lips parted and she exhaled slowly, releasing a gentle puff of breath the ghosted across his cheek and sent a shiver down his spine. He could feel himself leaning forward, being drawn into the depth of her eyes and the intoxicating scent that radiated from her skin. He saw her eyes shift to focus on something just behind him and he nearly whimpered, wanting her attention to return to him and only him. This shook Ichigo from his stupor a little and he found that he was disgusted with himself. _To have such a pathetic reaction…_ A battle raged within him, then. He shook his head and pulled away from her a bit. _She's different, there's no denying that. But, is she dangerous? She's given no indication that she's anything more than an exceedingly beautiful, and strange, girl…_

*****

Niniana noticed when Ichigo tensed beside her. _Perhaps he is beginning to get the idea…_ she thought with an inward chuckle. She reached out to his consciousness and dove into his thoughts. She felt a little disappointed when she met no resistance to the intrusion. _Guess he's not quite powerful enough for that, yet_. From his mind, she was able to glean his general thoughts about her. Anxiety… excitement… curiosity… all normal reactions. She could also tell that he was debating whether or not she was dangerous… this could be an interesting direction to take…

Ichigo watched as her eyes suddenly brightened and her smile spread even further across her face.

"Not at all, Ichigo," Niniana said slyly as she watched him balk, "At least not for a Shinigami as powerful, experienced, and celebrated as yourself…" Without waiting for a response, Niniana rose gracefully to her feet just a second before the bell rang, but Ichigo didn't notice at all as the rest of his classmates headed for the door. "I'll be seeing you again soon, Kurosaki Ichigo," she said as she melted into the sea of their classmates.

*****

"I knew she was dangerous from the start," Rukia was saying as they stood outside the school building. They had automatically congregated there, each thinking they had the most disturbing news to tell. Chad and Orihime watched silently as Rukia and Ishida bickered about the exact quality and quantity of the strange girl's reiatsu. Ichigo was too trapped by his own musings to pay much attention to the others. As nervous as the rest of his friends were about Niniana's sudden appearance, none of them could possibly understand how he felt at the moment. _She knew I'm a Shinigami…_

"But it was HUGE, Ishida," Rukia continued, "And I'm sure she was masking the majority of it. So if that is the case, we're in even greater trouble!"

"Wait, Rukia," Ichigo suddenly interrupted. "Just how big was her reiatsu?"

"Even as it was, masked here in the real world… it was… unbelievable… far larger than even your own. Ishida and I were completely crippled by it. But surely even you could have told that much…" Rukia said with an involuntary shudder.

"I didn't feel anything," Ichigo stated numbly. Before he could stop himself, Ichigo was raging, revealing what had him so distracted, "Argghhh! How did she know my name and, more importantly, that I'm a Shinigami?!" He slammed his fist into the wall beside them and leant his forehead against the cool stucco.

"What," all of his friends exclaimed in unison.

"Ichigo, this is bad," Rukia said in a hushed voice. She continued to look panic-stricken as she whipped out her cell phone, flipped it open, and punched a series of digits into the keypad before walking away from the group.

Ichigo watched her walk away, but couldn't bring himself to care. His mind was completely focused on his memories of that afternoon. Even after all his friends' testimonials, he couldn't bring himself to think that Niniana was bad or dangerous. The image of her eyes locked onto his was haunting him and he shivered in the early-evening chill. _I want, no, need to know more…_

*****

Niniana stood atop the roof of the building across the street from the Kurosaki's clinic. From her vantage point, she could look directly into the upstairs bedroom of the house. She smiled gently as the shock of vibrant orange hair tossed from side to side; something caused Ichigo to whimper softly in his sleep. She reached out with her mind, sending soothing tendrils of thought to the young boy. She heard him sigh and saw that his restless movements almost immediately ceased. She couldn't help the small smile that spread across her features once again. At that moment, a gust of wind swept across the rooftops and caused her garments to billow about her, dancing in the gale. Niniana sighed… _It is wonderful to be able to dress in the vestments of my people once more… it has been a while._ But then she caught the scent of something in the air. Her head snapped up and she whirled around to face the northeast. And just as the sun began to rise on the distant eastern horizon, Niniana was gone in a flash.

*****


	2. Chapter 2

Ichigo woke suddenly, struggling to draw a breath from underneath the pillow that was pressed to his face. He grappled, for a moment, with the hands on the other side of the pillow before they disappeared and the pressure on his nose and mouth was relieved. He sat up, gasping for breath, and noticed that Rukia was sitting cross-legged at the end of his bed, smiling sweetly at him.

"What the hell, Rukia," Ichigo raged, "I could have suffocated!"

"Oh, good morning, Ichigo! Did you sleep well? Because, if so, we have some important things to discuss…" Rukia chimed cheerfully, "Like the sudden appearance of that _siren_ with the outrageous reiatsu!"

"Rukia, didn't you already call headquarters," Ichigo grumbled, rolling his eyes. "They told us to wait while they did some investigating, right?"

"…"

"Then, let's just do exactly that," Ichigo yelled once more. Really… it was far too early to have to deal with Rukia and her crazy preoccupations.

"But, it's strange, Ichigo," Rukia began, "When was the last time we got to sleep through the entire night?"

"Ummmm…"

"Exactly," Rukia continued without waiting for a real answer. "Nothing! Not a single alert last night, but this morning…" Rukia held up her phone for Ichigo to see. On the screen was a text message indicating that there had been numerous hollow killed and 'cleansed' during the night.

"I don't know wha…" Ichigo began, scratching his head.

"Don't you understand?! We didn't get a single alert or fight a single hollow… And yet, this morning, Seireitei has confirmation of numerous hollow found destroyed within our perimeter," Rukia concluded, watching for Ichigo's reaction.

"Rukia," Ichigo began in an exasperated tone, "I think you may be overreacting." Ichigo paused for a moment, waiting for the vein bulging in Rukia's forehead to subside. When she didn't lash out at him, he took it as a sign that it was safe to continue. "There are plenty of explanations for why we weren't called on last night… for starters, maybe that afro-headed freak is finally pulling his weight around here," Ichigo said in a huff.

"Not likely, Ichigo," Rukia replied, with a small smile. Ichigo smiled, too, glad that Rukia might finally relent and stop pestering him about Niniana. _Niniana… how had he remembered that name after only one encounter?_ Ichigo wasn't sure, but he did know that that name, and it's owner, had drifted in and out of his dreams all night. But, Ichigo's musings were cut short at that moment by a large, fluffy slipper colliding with his temple. "And don't think I've given up on that harpy yet," Rukia was yelling again.

"Huh?" was Ichigo's only response. _Shit…_ he thought as rolled out of bed and sprang out the door to avoid the sudden barrage of small items that were thrown at him from around the room… Rukia did not appreciate being ignored…

*****

Niniana knew she was exceedingly early for the school day, but she wasn't taking any chances. She wasn't sure when Ichigo would arrive at school, so she had shown up extra early to be sure that she was there as soon as he appeared.

Niniana had wanted to spend the evening investigating, or rather watching, the intriguing boy. Instead, she had spent the entire night chasing after and eradicating numerous hollow. What little time she had spent watching the boy, was done between hollow and from rooftops outside his window. She chuckled and smiled softly to herself as she slowly shook her head. She honestly couldn't understand her fascination with the boy… So he had an abnormally large amount of reiatsu… There was just something _more_ about this one, and Niniana was determined to discover what that 'something' was.

The past few hours had been surprisingly quiet and hollow-free, and Niniana was more than willing to revel in these few, transient moments of peace. She knew that this brief reprieve was anything but luck; indeed, she could feel another radiant source of reiatsu hard at work. And, although this source rivaled Ichigo's own, Niniana could tell that another party was inviting her to come and investigate. _Later…_ For now, Niniana was content to rest and wait for Ichigo.

*****

Ichigo continued to ignore Rukia as they walked to school that morning. He was still nursing his head, and his pride, in the aftermath of Rukia's outburst earlier that morning. He had known she had quite the arm, so his first instinct had been to run out of the house and down the street, where he had thought himself to be out of her range. As it turned out, Rukia was an incredibly accurate shot, even over long distances. From his window on the second floor, she had launched a single running shoe at Ichigo, who was unable to duck in time to avoid the foot-apparel-turned-rocket that collided, with amazing force, with his forehead.

As for Rukia, she was still gloating. _At least she's stopped pestering me, for now._

He realized, however, that his reprieve was destined to be short-lived. Turning the corner of the wall surrounding the main school building, they were immediately met with a strange sight.

The entire student body had congregated in front of the school's entrance. They were standing idly by in small groups, whispering conspiratorially to one another. Every few moments, someone would branch off from one group to scurry to another. The source of their excitement seemed to centered around something in the small picnic area in front of the school.

Ichigo and Rukia joined the fray, pushing and elbowing their way through the crowd to search for Sado or Orihime or Ishida - any familiar face. Somehow, they found their way to the center of the jostling crowd and, somehow, Ichigo managed to glimpse the center of attention over the heads of the last few people in front of him.

Lounging in the grass, she didn't seem to notice the uproar she'd caused with her presence alone. Excited whispers drifted through the crowd. Those who had not seen her the day before, jostled frantically to catch even a glimpse of Karakura High's newest student. Ichigo could barely make her out through the students and picnic tables and bikes, but there was no doubt in his mind who the cause of this pandemonium was.

Tired of waiting and being shoved, Ichigo pushed through the last rows of people ahead of him and broke into the empty space between her and the crowd. It seemed as if he'd passed some invisible barrier because, as soon as he broke ranks, a tantalizing hush fell over the throbbing mob in a wave. She still had not noticed, it seemed, because she made no indication that she was aware of the shift in the mood or the sudden tension in the air.

Ichigo could see her fully, now. She was laying face-up in the grass, her feet crossed daintily at the ankles. Long legs were once again encased in dark blue-jeans and traveled for miles before meeting with her hip. The rest of her could not be seen, save the wide pool of silver that was her hair stretched out across the ground, because of something white she held to her chest.

*****

She was entirely unaware of her audience; the furry bundle in her arms wriggled tirelessly as she scratched between pointed ears. The creature's obvious contentment, made clear in the form of loud purring, was music to her ears.

Astareal had shown up quite unexpectedly… One moment she was observing the clouds as they flit across the sky, threading tufts of grass through her fingers, and watching the morning light filter down through the tree's last leaves; her thoughts preoccupied with a certain orange-haired student… then, a coy mewl alerted her to the presence of another so close to her own person that the small creature was able to lean forward and nuzzle its tiny, pink nose against her forearm.

She's leapt up in pleasant surprise and gathered the furry bundle into her arms. Cooing sweet and tender nothings to her tiny companion, she didn't at all notice the slow trickle of students that had begun to arrive and were pausing to stare curiously at her. She spun wildly with the bundle held tightly against her chest before plopping to the ground in a crumpled heap. Students gasped worriedly until she moved again, rolling around and yelping. She sat up with the tiny being clinging to her finger by its minuscule, razor-sharp, needle-like teeth.

She rattled it gently, but the fur ball held on tight. More highly-amused than pained or irritated, Niniana couldn't help but laugh raucously at the creature's ridiculous antics. She hugged her hand, little menace still attached, close to her body and chuckled light-heartedly.

More student were stopping to stare dazedly at the strange, affectionate display, now, but Niniana couldn't bring herself to care enough to stop. Once they realized where she was, they would stare regardless of how average she appeared… she might as well rejoice in her friend's sudden appearance. And so, she continued to loll and sprawl in the grass, both girl and critter content to ignore the pestering crowd that formed.

Back in the moment, she laughed, suddenly and joyously, as the tiny bundle lost itself in its satisfaction and slumped drunkenly to the side. She righted it with a prod and continued with her gentle ministrations. Until…

"Ichigo!"

Her mind snapped to attention and she rose gracefully into a sitting position, moving with the fluidity of running water. She didn't even have to search the crowd in front of her for her quarry. His flaming hair and flagrant reiatsu caught her attention immediately. A sudden swoop of elation caught her by surprise and caused her breathing to hitch and her heart to pound. Tingling with joy and excitement, a slow smile appeared on her face.

*****

Her fingers moved aimlessly over the tiny bundle she held and Ichigo was immediately reminded of their similar movement over her desk the prior day… Shaking his head, he tried to force the startlingly clear images from his mind. Instead, he tried to focus on the sudden silence all around him. It seemed that the crowd had taken to watching him instead, anxious to see what he would do, now that he had broached the invisible wall between the restless crowd and the object of their sudden obsession.

He stirred nervously; he wanted to go to her - to interact on any level with her, as they had the day before - but not with the entire school watching. He hovered enigmatically between her and them for long moments, shifting awkwardly from foot-to-foot.

But, then something caught his attention. A tinkling. A soft exclamation. A gentle chuckle. Not much more than a drawn-out sigh. His head turned to face her, but she was still preoccupied with the lump on her chest, poking at it with the sweetest look of mirth on her face. His heart skipped a beat and he couldn't stop his feet from twitching forward of their own accord.

"Ichigo!"

The cry caught him off guard and he nearly fell to the ground from shock as the blood drained from his face. Orihime was waving at him frantically from across the yard. She sat atop Chad's shoulders, for height, and was trying desperately to catch Ichigo's attention. He waved half-heartedly in her direction before turning back to the place _she_ had been.

Blue. Blue locked onto amber and stared with an intensity that refused to let him go.

Warmth blossomed in his chest, suddenly. Tendrils of hot, tingling sensation spread throughout his entire body, working their way through his veins to reach every part of him, from the top of his head to the tips of his toes.

Something had changed in the crowd behind him; there was a new commotion and the horde of students was moving, en masse. But Ichigo couldn't bring himself to care… not with those eyes on him. Something had changed in her, as well, but Ichigo couldn't quite place it… Then, there was a harsh voice in his ear, jarring him from his reverie. A teacher, perhaps one he'd had before, was yelling for him to "quit daydreaming" and "get to class". Ichigo shook his head, dazedly, and mumbled a hasty and half-hearted apology as the man stormed away.

Turning back to the picnic area, Ichigo was stunned to find her already striding away, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth. A smile! That was what had changed! She had been smiling when they locked gazes; and, this time, hers had not been one of mischief or cunning, but a truly radiant and joyous smile. The thought caused Ichigo's heart to flutter wildly as he turned and made his way to the front steps, somehow unable to catch up to her before she disappeared down some random, deserted hallway.

*****


End file.
